Study: Anesthesia providers have poor hand hygiene compliance rates

Anesthesia providers have low hand hygiene compliance rates, according to a new study by researchers at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. A press release from the Association for Professionals of Infection Control and Epidemiology said the study used video observation to track patterns of when anesthesia providers’ hands made contact with work surfaces. Researchers saw an average of 149 hand hygiene opportunities per hour of anesthesia time. The study is published in the July issue of the American Journal of Infection Control.

Hand hygiene compliance was lowest during the first and last 20-minute time periods, corresponding with peaks in bacterial contamination of the 20 most frequently touched objects during those times. The study found that providers were least likely to perform hand hygiene immediately before patient contact and after contact with the patient’s environment, and most likely to do so after potential exposure to body fluids.

Read the APIC release here via Infection Control Today.